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(Editor’s Note: Here are some more frequently asked questions and answers from Joe Henry, Interim Hubbard County jail administrator.)
As promised in my last post here are some more common questions asked about our jail. Also as promised I’ve populated the FAQ page with the questions from my...
Park Rapids, 56470

Park Rapids Minnesota PO Box 111 56470

2014-02-05 10:09:10

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(Editor’s Note: Here are some more frequently asked questions and answers from Joe Henry, Interim Hubbard County jail administrator.)

As promised in my last post here are some more common questions asked about our jail. Also as promised I’ve populated the FAQ page with the questions from my previous post as well as those in this post. Enjoy!

Q. Can I drop mail, shampoo, stamps, etc., off at the jail for an inmate?

A. No. The only items allowed to be dropped off for an inmate are:

* Prescription medication

* Clothing for STS crew members or for inmates upon release

* Prescription eyewear

The jail will not accept anything else for inmates. Please also understand that you may not bring legal or other paperwork down to the jail for an inmate to sign. You must send these items through the U.S. postal service and the inmate will be required to purchase and envelope to send it back to you.

Q. Does the jail take 30 percent of any deposits made to an inmate’s account?

A. Yes and no. If the inmate doesn’t owe the jail any money from the current or past incarcerations, 100 percent of any funds deposited after booking will be credited to their account and they can do with it as they please. If, however, the inmate owes the jail money we will take the 30 percent and apply it toward their liens.

When an inmate is assessed a fee it is charged to their account. If the inmate has funds to apply to the fee, the system will automatically attempt to collect the entire amount, or whatever is available.

We strongly believe that offenders need to help pay the cost of their incarceration(s). Building and operating a jail is not a cheap prospect and we wouldn’t have to do either if everyone in our community always made good choices.

The reality is that there will always be those among us that choose to selfishly engage in criminal activity. It used to be that other than court fines, criminal offenders mostly avoided financial consequences associated with their stay in jail.

That changed in 2011 when the Hubbard County Commissioners approved the jail to start charging Pay To Stay fees and to seek reimbursement from offenders for any medical and dental expenses incurred by the jail on an inmate’s behalf.

Statutorily, we could take 100 percent of any funds deposited on an inmate’s account while they’re incarcerated in our facility. If we chose that course of action, however, we would likely not recover much of what is owed as very few people would want to put money on any inmates account if they knew it would all be applied to what the inmate owed.

We therefore decided that by taking 30 percent of deposits we would be able to recover some of the money owed the jail and at the same time encourage inmates to purchase items from the canteen system, phone cards etc. Remember from a previous post that commissions made from these sales funds our inmate programs.

Q. What happens to accounts that aren’t paid in full by the time the inmate is released?

A. Upon release, inmates are provided an invoice for the current balance due. The total balance is due within 30 days unless a payment plan is set up. If the invoice isn’t paid within 30 days we will submit it to collections up to and including recovery through the state of Minnesota’s Revenue Recapture program.